


Raid

by levy120



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Chemical Mumbo Jumbo, Gen, Inbetween Queen for a Day (1/16) and The Alchemist Returns (1/20), Mild Language, Minor Violence, Missing Scene, No season 2 spoilers, POV, minimal dialogue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-11-12 10:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18008921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/levy120/pseuds/levy120
Summary: A look into what Varian was up to between the ending of “Queen for a Day” and his run-in with Raps in “The Alchemist returns”





	1. Raid the Child

"Varian, are you coming?"

His answer had been short and precise. Technically easy to understand, but the late baker's wife was ignoring him and the stand he was making. She was trying to beseech him, he knew, trying to get him to come where they were setting up the new village, away from the rocks.

But Varian was adamant.

Because leaving the village, leaving the lab, meant that he'd be abandoning his dad.

He didn't want to hear about how she knew what it felt like to lose someone (to the rocks nonetheless), he could ignore that - but it was when she made claims about what his father would have wanted (how DARE she?) that Varian had violently rounded on her and chased her from the property by threat with one of his concoctions.

That was the last he'd seen of her. Or any other of his remaining neighbors for that matter.  
Varian hadn't slept well that night. Or any of the ones after. Or before that incident, really.  
But sleep was for the weak and Varian couldn’t afford it anyway.

Not after what had happened to his dad.

In order not to feel anything but awful, he'd busied himself with studying his father's belongings for clues. He’d known- _knew!_ His father knew something! What was it that he had wanted to tell him?  
There was no chance of figuring that out without breaking him out of the amber, what with the way the letter had crumpled up in the man’s fist. But Varian had soon reached the point where he could no longer bear the presence of the amber.

Throwing a blanket over it wouldn’t make it go away, but it helped him cope with at least ignoring the constant reminder of his greatest mistake.

But had it really been his fault...?

Pondering this wasn't important, not when he had a solution to find, a mystery to unravel.  
The next clue of which had one day come to him in the form of an ominous scroll that he'd found in his father's room. He couldn't read the writing (yet), but the images depicted on it left not much room for speculation.

That was when he began to feel even worse if it were at all possible. He wasn't sure whether it was the truth of his father blatantly _hiding_ something from him with a purpose (the rocks where on that scroll, why were the rocks on that scroll, what did- why?!) or the numbing reality that Varian would not find out from him.

He felt hollow. A familiar feeling by now. Varian hoped and wished that he could just finally get used to it, but something felt off this time. It was haunting. Like ghosts whisking about... He felt watched.  
Maybe he was just becoming paranoid. Isolation did that to you.

The feeling held something familiar, as if any second now his dad would pop around the corner to scold him about sticking his nose into matters that did not concern him...  
But, naturally, that wasn’t going to happen. Varian knew exactly why and that knowledge was grounding him.

If the clues on the scroll were anything to go by it only confirmed his suspicions about the princess's involvement!  
That realisation was a returning sting, like tearing at a barely crusted wound.  
...But there was more to this scroll, he couldn't let himself get distracted by that. Something in there held answers to the rocks. _That's_ what he ought to focus on for now.

One way or another, he was going to figure it out.

 

Days had gone by since then, weeks maybe, Varian wasn't to sure how much time had passed when it happened. All he remembered was walking through the house blindly, eyes entirely fixated on the scroll and trying to decipher the signs on it with a code he had developed. He'd been chewing on a ham-sandwich (it tasted stale) when Rüdiger started pawing at his legs. Varian quirked a brow at him and handed him the barely eaten sandwich to take a bite, but the raccoon seemed more occupied with something in the window... except there was nothing there.  
"What... do you want out, buddy?" Varian asked curiously and headed for the door to let his companion out... When he caught the shadows of feet on the other side and froze.

But that couldn't be… All the villagers had left.

He was about to go and see who it was - maybe Rapunzel had decided to finally come around and check in on him after all - but, no, those feet walked and paced with heavy steps.  
They did not belong to the delicate prance of a barefooted princess.

Without warning the door flung open to reveal a bulky masked man blocking the entire entrance. With the light pouring in from outside it was hard to make out more than the person’s shape and (very large) size but they did seem to be dressed in some kind of red robe.  
Cautiously backing off at that sight, Varian's first instinct was to hide the scroll behind his back. Whoever this person was, they didn't appear to be friendly (Why were they wearing a mask??).  
Without a word the masked stranger held out his arm, as if to beckon Varian over... Or to ask for the scroll. But why would he... How did he…

Varian stood frozen.

The intruder, arm still held out like he just expected Varian to hand over his one and only clue, took a tentative step closer. Varian felt his grasp on the paper behind his back tightening, giving its existence away with a soft crinkling sound.  
The masked guy kept approaching still and Varian had begun to back off in time, to keep the distance between them. It was only when he bumped into something with his back (this was not a wall...) and he felt a large gloved hand grab his shoulder (shit, shit, shit-) that he broke out in a panic. Grasping the scroll tightly now in a balled fist, Varian elbowed the person behind him in the gut and in the second they doubled over (good, they weren't wearing armor) he slipped past the other intruder and bound for his lab.

He wasn't sure who these people were, but he had an inkling as to why they were here and was certain that they were giving him chase for the heavy stomping that was catching up to him.

And Varian could swear they were multiplying.

Where there had only been one intruder in his back and one stepping in his path another pair was now trying to corral him at the end of the corridor where they had slipped through the window. It was frustrating, like fighting against a Hydra. Once Varian managed to elude one of them, two more came in their place - and this time Varian had no corner to cut.  
They were blocking the path to his lab and approached slowly with a sense of caution in their steps like any sudden movement might trigger Varian to do something rash.

Good on them!

Rüdiger chattered uneasily by his feet. He could feel the critter's weight pressing against his leg in what Varian supposed was meant as assurement; but before he could appreciate the sentiment the teen felt a sturdy pair of arms wrapping around him in a crushing hold and lifting the skinny boy up from the ground. Varian kicked and thrashed at the feeling of losing the ground beneath his feet, but it was as if the bulky figure (the first one Varian assumed) didn't even take note of the boy's struggle.  
Instead Varian felt his back getting slammed against the wall harshly, the sudden impact knocking the wind out of him. His feeble weight was held up by a single thick hand pressing against his neck, just tight enough that he could still breathe and take note of the guy's other hand reaching for the scroll that Varian kept clinging to with an iron grip.

NO!

Varian tried to struggle free of the hold, but breathing was starting to become difficult. He gave a feeble wheeze as he saw the edges of his vision blurr and his body give out. Somewhere along the line he felt his strength leave him… and the scroll was torn from his weakened grasp.

It was like a wound had been torn open. That was his FATHER'S!

He couldn't let them have it. He COULDN’T.  
It was his only clue.  
It didn't...

...belong...

  
Varian was jolted back into awareness when he dropped to the ground quite suddenly, the hand around his neck - gone. He heard the snarling of a feral animal before his vision focused in on Rüdiger trying to maim the arm that held Varian's scroll.  
"Good boy," Varian thought to himself and from his spot on the ground kicked out at the intruder's legs to make him topple.

Varian attacked the fresh wound on the mercenary's (that's what he decided they were now) arm to make him drop the scroll and as he picked it back up, Varian held out his left arm for Rüdiger to latch back on to. Once the raccoon was settled securely on his shoulder Varian scratched it behind an ear and was back on the move.

  
So, he couldn’t reach the lab through the corridor. That path was still blocked by the goons from the window. Now if he could get outside through the main door-  
Rüdiger screeched and Varian ducked on instinct, a wooden staff barely swishing over his head. That one would have knocked him out for sure, had it managed to hit. It also would have hurt Rüdiger pretty badly in the collateral.

That, quite frankly, made Varian mad.

From his low vantage point the alchemist tackled into his attacker’s legs and stormed outside where it would be easier for him to dodge them. He could still access his lab through the emergency exit on other side of the house, that was mostly used for gassy or potentially toxic experiments.

Except the moment he stepped out of the door, Varian found an entire entourage waiting for him.

When two of them lunged for him, Varian leaped out of the way and tossed a couple of spare cleaning spheres their way to serve as both a distraction and tripping hazard. The moment they weren’t paying attention, the alchemist took his chance to disappear behind a larger cluster of the rocks.  
Some of the intruders still seemed to have kept their eyes on him, for he heard something thunk against the surface of the rocks not soon after, pieces of what looked like a throwing weapon clattering nearby and just this once Varian thanked their indestructible nature.

Slinking his way across the destroyed village was disheartening, but it was the one advantage he had over his uninvited guests.  
In a wide loop he circled around his own house, every once and again peering past the rocks to check whether or not the coast was clear before progressing further. Luckily for him, these guys didn't seem to _know_ about Varian's other entrance, so when it came into view he was positively delighted to find that most guards had either gathered at the front-door or split up to look for him across the village.

Not trusting his luck entirely Varian moved closer to the windows. The inside was empty for sure, alright! As Varian began to head for the hidden door though, a suspicious movement caught his attention in the reflection of the window. The mercenary that had spotted him wasted no time calling Varian's presence to attention and acting on a panicked whim, the boy slipped into the lab quickly, barricading the door before they could catch up with him.

Only once the pounding on the outer door had eased and Varian was sure that the main entrance to his lab was securely locked, did his running give way to frantic pacing. With his hands tearing at his hair and his breath running away with him, Varian tried counting off his options.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Every other moment his gaze flew back towards the now suspiciously quiet door. Rüdiger on his shoulder rumbled in an attempt to comfort his boy, but it did no good in calming Varian down.

He headed over to his research desk to ground himself. Gloved fingers dug into the wood as he let out a breath in an attempt to counter the approaching panic attack. Surveilling the room did nothing to help, as his gaze inevitably landed where the amber was hidden away. Varian scowled at the sight, but knew that he couldn’t deal with this right now. To his dismay this new problem had painted itself with a greater urgency.

Okay, okay, Varian, pull yourself together. So these guys had been hounding him for the scroll. Time to give that one another look.

He pulled the piece of parchment from his pocket to lay out flat on the desk, quietly examining his findings.  
Ancient darkness... that's what these guys were after. That couldn’t be good. He couldn't let them have it, but then…

His gaze fell back on the illustration of the Sundrop flower and his eyes widened. Of course! Maybe the princess knew who these guys were.

A loud banging sounded from the door, and without thinking, Varian fumbled for the scroll and the graphtyc he'd first plucked it from. After snatching both from his research desk and disappearing into the underground tunnels through the trapdoor by said table, Varian made sure to drape a carpet over the lid in a way that would conceal the opening once it snapped shut again.

Rüdiger scurried in first and Varian gave one last glance at the shaking of the heavy door to his lab, before he too disappeared into the tunnels below the village.

  
They were in his lab. They were in his _lab_.

They. Were. In. his. LAB.

It was an infestation! Teeming like rats, going through his stuff and Varian didn’t know how to exterminate them. Instead, he was pacing down in his tunnel at the remains of one of his boilers. He kept a couple of backup gadgets there and stored the most basic ingredients that liked dark and cold places (now that the boilers were no longer functioning) opposed to the heat that could generate in his lab, but the most crucial stuff he’d need had to OF COURSE still be in his lab.

At least Varian figured he’d managed to secure the scroll. That was what they were after…

But _why?_

That was the question he seemed to keep coming back to. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it.  
Varian had had a hard enough time translating the presumably dead language, THESE guys couldn’t possibly know more than he did…

_But what if they did?_

No... _No!_ It wouldn’t matter anyway. They’d broken into his house and _assaulted_ him, it wasn’t like he could just sit down and have a _chat_ with them, that was ridiculous!  
They needed to be GONE.

His contemplative pacing ended with a sharp turn and a beeline towards the little shelf that Varian had to work with. It might not have been much, but maybe at least he’d get some inspiration from it. Getting out of the tunnels would not be a problem, Varian had spent enough time down here installing the boilers to know where they lead and he was smart enough to recognize the advantage he had in that. The fact that these men were now crowding in his lab was both a curse and a blessing in that, yes, he would need to get them _out_ of there, but if they were accumulating there to look for him, that at least gave him a small window of free reign in the rest of the village or the tunnels.

Grabbing a couple of vials from the shelf, just enough to carry easily, Varian bound for where the tunnel would lead to his storage shed. Maybe he could hide the graphtyc in there somewhere, or stock up on his ingredients. If anything it would allow him a surface view to see what the mercenaries would be up to.

He propped Rüdiger up on his shoulders and climbed the ladder to the shed, quickly going through his options. His first pick was a satchel, that would do a well enough job to carry the vials and ingredients around more easily. Varian needed to remain flexible, that and being on his home turf were his biggest advantages right now over a whole flock of intruders. The bag was quickly filled with a couple more things like paper, pens, a lint and his old respirator that he’d sorted out one or two years ago. The new one at his lab was obviously better, but in times like these… he’d just have to make do with what he had at hand.

In his mind Varian checked off the barest bones of a plan he had, or, uh, was working on. Still better than nothing.

He’d just… smoke them out, like animals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank my entire Beta group for their patience and especially kimsnothere for her scientific Intel. If you see science in my fics you can be sure she has had a hand in it.  
> "You've already used the name of the mineral. Explain what it looks like, your readers don't know what it is." "You say that like I do." 
> 
> Start of Production: 18-10-2018  
> Chapter 1 Release: 05-03-2019  
> Chapter 2 and 3 are done and in Beta.  
> Chapter 4 is... causing a couple of problems as of this point.


	2. Raid the Lab

With only as much time on his hands until the intruders would realize that he'd gotten away, Varian knew that he couldn’t waste a minute. The problem: Most of his vital ingredients were still in the lab. The very same one he’d been forced to abandon. The powdered salpeter would have been a big help, but he could probably make do by gathering some raw niter from the caves instead. That should be easy enough to find somewhere close by the fields or the well. Now getting the sugar, that was going to be the more... risky endeavor as it would force him to the surface if he wanted to access the forsaken homes and he couldn't just openly waltz through the village and give his position away.

Another glance out of the window revealed a couple more of the masked goons roaming about, so Varian ducked away again, quietly mapping out in his mind which house he could best access in a mostly sheltered way through the tunnels.

The tailor's place was not particularly hidden, but far off from his lab. Maybe far away enough to not be in their periphery. The rocks had also been particularly awful around these parts, sot hey would be sure to shield him from prying eyes.

So as it was, not long after Varian found himself hidden in the shadows of the thicket and and behind a dense cluster of the rocks (at least they were good for something) observing the mercenaries buzzing about his home in the distance. It was annoying that they just refused to finally leave his home, but at least that meant they wouldn't notice him here. One of them seemed to relay the update of their futile search to the goon in charge and judging from his reaction he wasn't happy with the report.

  
Well whoop-dee-doo, seemed like the 14-year old was too much for these guys to handle. Wasn't that just a _shame?_

  
Taking the opportunity when he saw it, Varian slunk into the abandoned house. Once there, he raided the place for a simple cloak, a package of sugar... salt, a cracker for Rüdiger, some vinegar and a couple of non-perishables for later. It wasn’t like Old Mr. George was going to come and pick them up again anytime soon. Better to put them to use now, before they'd end up victim to fungus and rot.

Another peek through the window to check whether the coast was clear and Varian snuck his way past the rocks back towards the tunnels.

Gathering the salpeter had been a cinch, the white mineral scraping off from the walls easily enough. Varian had soon returned to settle at the work-desk directly placed under the trapdoor of his lab to tinker with his recent acquirements. From below he could still hear their footsteps thundering above, like the tidings of a storm that was about to come. Personally, Varian had to give them credit for their resilience. From the noise level he suspected that there were only two or three goons left in the lab, most likely to expect his return (they'd at least gotten that much right, Varian wasn't going to give up his turf easily). The others had likely flocked out by now to examine the rest of the village and/or the outer borders. That could prove to become a problem later.

Dealing with the remaining pests in his lab would have to come first. He could still worry about the rest of the pack later.

  
Hours later, Varian was wiping the residue from his face and marveling the fruits of his labor.

  
The ingredients he'd managed to gather had been enough to create just about a dozen of smaller smoke bombs from scratch. The paper-wrapped sugar-niter mixtures would make for a nasty surprise. Sure, the components in his lab would have likely been more efficient, but at the time of his escape finding a safe spot to hide had been a tad more important than cleaning out his shelves. Besides... a toss and a snatch of the bundle left Varian with renewed confidence - if all this worked out, then he'd have his lab back soon enough anyway.

Just a bit of charcoal and sulfur and these babies would be able to combust on their own given a sufficient force of impact...

  
"Alright Rüdiger, you wait here." Varian instructed the raccoon before snapping on the respirator and climbing up the ladder.

The noises had become less frequent, but Varian could tell that they were still around by pressing his ear to the wooden trap-door. Instead of actively searching for him they just seemed to have changed their strategy into camping until Varian was bound to return. Something about that method disturbed the teenager, but Varian wasn't going to make it easy for them.

He carefully lifted the trapdoor with as little noise as he could manage and peered past the flap of the carpet he'd layered above it earlier. Hoping that these monkeys hadn't made too much of a mess, Varian's eyes scanned the floor for their footing. There were about two left in his lab and for sure more of them were bound to linger around in his home.

  
Well, let’s see for how long.

  
With a determined frown Varian lit one of the makeshift bombs and tossed the little clump in a corner out of their periphery. It immediately began to smoke profusely, the dull thud it had made and the sickening stench of burnt sugar drawing the mercenaries’ attention to where the initial bomb had landed. Varian followed suit with another pair of bombs where these idiots had abandoned their respective posts to investigate.

The smoke had begun to billow high enough to block Varian's sight so he pulled his goggles down and tried to listen for their steps. At this rate at least they weren't going to notice the slight bump of the trapdoor as the smoke was too dense, easily giving Varian the camouflage he needed.

Everything was going according to plan-

  
So why were they _not leaving!?_

  
Disgruntled by this turn of events, the teen retreated back down to confer with Rüdiger. The raccoon in question was where he’d left him, sitting on the table and tilting his head at the young alchemist’s sudden return.

“Sorry, pal, but it looks like I'll need your help after all.”

The raccoon chittered in confusion and flopped back on his butt to watch as his human grabbed one of the last remaining scraps of paper and began to scribble a raw sketch on it.

After a while Varian shifted the page on the desk to show the animal the very detailed image of a conical flask, with something that looked rough and stoney in it. Another sketch beside it depicted the content in more detail without the flask and a third scribble should clue the raccoon in on the last place that Varian had left the compound he was looking for…

“You’ll have to get this for me.”

When Rüdiger backed off clueless and overwhelmed, Varian felt his hope flaking and he insistently shoved the piece of paper closer with a pleading “Please…”

With its ears drooped the animal took another glance at the piece of paper, cautiously sniffing it. After a moment of contemplation the raccoon pawed at the images once before crawling over the sheet and licking the boy’s cheek. Varian felt his shoulders quake in return and he pulled the critter over in a tight hug. After the raccoon had been thanked and encouraged, Varian hoisted him onto his shoulders and handed the note back to him. Rüdiger eagerly pawed for it and pulled it to his chest once he managed to grab hold of it while Varian tugged the goggles from his head to strap them over Rüdiger’s eyes.

Varian didn’t like having to do this… but with the lingering fog, the raccoon could easily sneak below the fume and still be _quick_ about it. Hopefully he was going to be too, because Varian didn’t like to leave him out in that kind of danger for long.

“Hurry up and be careful,” he advised the chubby critter before showing him the sketch one more time and then sending him out into the lab. Taking caution Varian closed the trapdoor just low enough that he would be able keep track of what was going on.

Sadly though, with the smoke burning in his eyes, Varian soon lost track of his companion.

There was a faint sound of clinking glass coming from the shelves that the men had picked up on as well and Varian instantly tensed. His gut coiled with disgust at his inability to step in when one of them rushed for the source of the noise. Varian heard a distinct growl coming from Rüdiger and the sound of breaking glass... and then quiet.

  
The raccoon hadn't come fleeing for the trapdoor again and for a second Varian expected the worst-

Until he overheard the mercenaries lament that the 'little pest' had fled out of the window.

Varian's form sagged with relief and he had to be careful to not slip from the ladder in a sudden moment of limp carelessness.

  
In his mind Varian was already listing off all the places where he'd expect Rüdiger to most likely seek shelter and promptly followed the tunnels to meet up with his friend at the designated spots.

After checking off the shed and a cavern by the forest, Varian had finally found the raccoon cowering by an apple tree close to the well.

  
Once Varian had confirmed that the masked intruders had not been following or lingering around these parts he tossed a cracker Rüdiger's way who picked up on the soft sound and immediately began to scour the ground for his treat. The goggles had slipped partially off during the animal's daring escape but as he was pawing the ground with his hands and sniffing for clues Varian could make out the reflection of a vial peeking from the raccoon's maw.

Varian would have to make sure to treat Rüdiger to some candy next chance he could.

For now though he welcomed the critter back with a hug and a couple of well deserved ear scratches that the raccoon accepted with rumbling appreciation.

“Best assistant ever!”

  
Finally Varian would be able to strike back.

 

After returning to his post under the lab Varian wasted no time in upgrading the smoke bombs. So the first set hadn't been impressive? Well, these were were gonna blow it out of the park!

Fixing up the batch he had left with some charcoal from the remains of the boiler disaster was easy. Now only a little bit of sulfur to each... and a particularly large portion on a single one… and voila. Truth be told, he could have almost felt pity for these guys hadn't it been for the mischievous giddiness in its stead.

Once done, Varian marveled at the new and improved sulfur coating. If the stench of _that_ thing didn't chase them out, then Varian on all accounts didn't know _what would._

Readying the bomb with a playful smirk he gave Rüdiger a determined nod before putting on his respirator and ascending that ladder again - hopefully for the last time.

  
Opening the trapdoor again revealed the following:

One, the lingering smoke from earlier had mostly dissipated by now. Traces of it were still left curling on the floor level but the air had clarified enough to see clearly again.

Two, the number of the mercenaries had increased. After the first smoke incident a couple of hours ago, they must have deemed it a clue to his presence and stocked up their own. Not a dumb move to make, Varian had to admit. He quite appreciated it too, on account that this way he would be able to hit more birds with one stone - and maybe, here's to some hoping - that would teach them to leave him alone.

  
The stink bomb was a full out success and Varian had the hardest time in not giving his position away by laughing out loud at their madness.

The very prominent smell of sulfur had quickly spread throughout the whole lab. The intruders were stumbling all over themselves to be the first one reaching the windows. One of them had tossed his helmet aside and looked like he was ready to throw up. Another had straight up fled for the door like the devil himself was chasing him.

Ha! Finally!

  
When Varian could tell that what little was left of the intruders was mostly preoccupied with themselves, Varian felt bold enough to actually sneak back into the lab. None of them were paying attention to him - they wouldn't know what had hit them!

Deeming the one convulsing on the ground harmless for now, Varian snuck up on the last one clogging up the window (the others having _mysteriously_ vanished, Varian supposed they’d simply _fled_ out of the window, like the graceful cowards that they were).

And maybe, given the right means this one was a scaredy cat as well. On his way Varian picked up a wrench in case anything went wrong and readied another of his smoke bombs since they had left such a lasting impression…

The new and improved bomb detonated on the frame of the window and ended up startling the masked goon more than Varian had expected to the point where he immediately jolted and ran, ran, ran right into the wall in his frenzy. The helmet sounded with a loud clang and the man's form plummeted to the ground where he remained motionless.

Once the moment had sunk in for Varian that the idiot had, in fact, knocked _himself_ out, the young alchemist huffed in amusement and tossed the wrench to the side again, in order to drag and lock the limp body out from his lab.

That left Varian with only one of them... and that particular mercenary had also become suspiciously still. What Varian didn't like about the sight of this one, was the sickly pale complexion of his skin - the helmet long ago discarded just out of reach. At first glance it looked like the man was no longer breathing.

_  
Shit._

  
Varian rushed over to look for clues. He didn't quite dare to get too close in case he was going to face a violent reaction - the man was after all still bulky enough to easily overpower the young teen if he wanted to.

  
...But what if he was DEAD?! Had Varian _killed_ him?!

  
No, no, no, no, no-

He hadn't wanted THAT!

  
The world swayed. Everything was off-kilter. Despite the respirator, Varian felt a sickness creeping up on him. He swayed on his feet and stumbled over towards a desk, tightly clutching the surface.

Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Ou- that didn’t help. He felt like he was choking on nothing.

Gloved fingers dug into the hardwood, but he couldn't feel it. His fingertips tingled with an unpleasant numbness and he couldn't move them, couldn’t breathe, couldn't-

  
His arm moved to pull the mask from his face until he remembered, no. That was a bad idea. Very bad. Don’t do that. Not unless you wanted to end up like-

His gaze fell back on the limp body on the floor and Varian felt…

  
Nothing.

  
He knew he should have felt revulsion or regret or pity, but…

If he felt anything at all it was the cold sweat clinging to his back.

  
He didn't even _know_ the guy and they attacked him first.

Varian had only defended himself.

  
So why did his knees buckle and his legs feel like jelly?

...

...

...

What was he gonna do with the _body?!_

  
It’s not like Varian worried much about needing to hide it - there was no one here to judge him anyway - but just throwing a blanket over it wouldn’t solve this issue. Sooner or later it was going to _stink_ and Varian couldn’t just keep wearing the respirator forever?!

Its skin was so pale and had that odd waxy sheen to it. Varian didn't want to look at that but also couldn't bring himself to look away, even as he was frantically pacing to come up with a solution-  
When the body stirred with a groan.

On impulse Varian grabbed the helmet lying next to the guy and knocked him out again.

That's what he got for scaring Varian like that!

...well at least he was still alive then, okay. Phew. Dodged an arrow there.

He could... he could use that.

  
This might be good thing after all.

 

After making sure that his _guest_ was incapacitated, Varian decided to use what little time he had before the man would wake up again, to stock up on his supplies and finish some preparations.

The stink bomb had been a temporary solution. There was no way he could all beat them away on his own, and since simply _asking_ for the princesses help had worked out so _splendidly_ the last time, well… Varian would just have to give her a bit of incentive.

Lure her here, let her deal with with this goons. Put that royal status to some _good_ use finally.

  
Varian hadn’t realized he’d been holding that breath until he’d let it out.

At some point during the slaughter of his book Varian must have lost himself. He glanced down at the demolished pages and with one last sigh stuffed the graphtyc in, shoving the cover closed for good measure. Of course he would no longer need “the introduction to Elemental integrity” (He knew that one from cover to cover anyway), but the whole endeavor was still risky. Even with the subtle spot he’d picked _and_ the weight of the key in his pocket…

No, he couldn’t back out of this now.

A letter to the princess had been done up quick. The clues were sparse at best and Varian just hoped Rapunzel would be smart enough to figure out that the volume he’d picked as a hiding spot did not belong in the space of his Flynn Rider shrine.

Despite that doubt still gnawing at him, once all of that was done, Varian finally felt like he could breathe more easily again; both figuratively and literally, as the remaining residue of the stink bomb had begun to dissipate (though it would for sure still linger around the place for a good while).

He knew that they were obviously still looking for him outside, every now and again Varian could catch one of their shadows sneaking by the windows - but by the distance they were keeping now he supposed his last retaliation had left an impression.

  
Good.

  
Finally ready to set off, Varian’s eyes trailed back to the unconscious mercenary he had kept stowed away by the amber thus far.

There was just one more thing he needed to do.

 

One, two, three drops. More shouldn’t really be necessary.

The glass of water he’d prepared had taken on a faint purple hue, just prominent enough that it couldn’t be made out in the dim light of his lab.

Varian was curious to see what the concoction he’d found in the river a couple of days ago would do. The alchemist couldn’t say with absolute certainty that he was sure of what this was going to do, but the alchemical makeup he’d come across while stretching it had reminded him of a mood potion he'd once read about. So, the logical conclusion was that if these guys were hostile before this should pacify them enough for Varian to figure out just WHY they were here.

And that turned out to be quite a success. Varian in many ways got more than he bargained for considering that the guy tied to his chair just _wouldn't. Stop. Talking._

His notes on "test subject one" had quickly been abandoned as the teen had a hard time catching up on the wave of input crashing down on him. Not that- not that Varian minded, not with all he’d learned aside from the potions effects. The information he’d gotten out of their little chat were most valuable. The guy himself had been low on the pack’s food chain or something, so he didn’t know a whole lot of details BUT Varian managed to uncover that these fellows had apparently hailed from Corona and that their target had indeed been the scroll and other such clues pertaining to the _black rocks_.

  
If Varian hadn’t already been determined to go to Corona before (he couldn’t stay here), then he was certain now that the princess had to know about this. She’d… like this she’d be obligated to help him!

The rocks… the flower from the scroll… the- the sundrop.

They had to be connected somehow.

  
The young alchemist’s gaze drifted up towards the still form of his father as the captive droned on in the back about his favorite cookie recipe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Easter everyone and Merry Varian Appreciation week :D  
> The original publishing date was pushed back for a bit because my Head!Beta had a brilliant suggestion that I happened to stumble with during the execution though, so this is the compromise you get :)


End file.
